Former Alaskan Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Mike Gravel has announced that he is switching to the Libertarian party.

Dear friend,

I wanted to update you on my latest plans before news gets out. Today, I am announcing my plan to join the Libertarian Party, because the Democratic Party no longer represents my vision for our great country. I wanted my supporters to get this news first, because you have been the ones who have kept my campaign alive since I first declared my candidacy on April 17, 2006.

The fact is, the Democratic Party today is no longer the party of FDR. It is a party that continues to sustain war, the military-industrial complex and imperialism -- all of which I find anathema to my views.

By and large, I have been repeatedly marginalized in both national debates and in media exposure by the Democratic leadership, which works in tandem with the corporate interests that control what we read and hear in the media.

Please take a moment to make your most generous donation to my presidential campaign today. $10, $20, $50 -- whatever you feel you can afford.

I want to thank you all for your continued support.

Gratefully yours,

Mike Gravel

Gravel's on his campaign site (http://www.gravel2008.us/content/personal-message-mike)

(AP) Long-shot presidential candidate Mike Gravel told supporters Wednesday he is leaving the Democratic Party to join the Libertarian Party.

Gravel, a former Democratic senator from Alaska, said in an e-mail that the Democratic Party "no longer represents my vision for our great country."

"It is a party that continues to sustain war, the military-industrial complex and imperialism - all of which I find anathema to my views," he said in the e-mail in which he also asked supporters for campaign donations.

Gravel, 77, has been excluded from recent Democratic debates because he failed to meet fundraising or polling thresholds.

Gravel left the Senate in 1981 after losing the 1980 Democratic primary. An outspoken critic of the Vietnam War, he was among the first Democrats to speak out against the war in Iraq while others supported the president.

That's the whole article, but I thought I'd include the link so you could see the wonderful picture they chose to use. :rolleyes:

In that small article they used all of their normal tricks to make Gravel seem like an unfavorable candidate- they use a picture that makes him seem extremely temperamental, mention his age (not a big deal itself, but a large majority of those who don't think he's cut out for the presidency have said he's just too old), his lack of funds, and the small amount of votes he has gotten thus far.

At least they also alluded to his experiences with the Vietnam War.

So, article aside- Do you believe this was a smart move for Gravel to switch parties? Does he have more of a chance now that he has changed his campaign's 'target audience'? Etc,etc.

(Ah crap. Typo in the thread title... ^.^')

Laisrean

March 28th, 2008, 01:25 PM

I like Gravel. He's a good man, and of all the Democratic contenders he was my absolute favorite. But like all good men, he didn't stand a chance in politics. Him, Ron Paul, and Dennis Kucinich were all largely ignored by the media and given the bare minimum of time during the debates. They just weren't given a fair chance by the powers that be.

Gwyddyon

March 28th, 2008, 04:45 PM

If he thinks the Libertarian Party better reflects the ideals of FDR, he's loonier than anybody likely thought. I'd love to see the Libertarian candidate proposing the WPA or CCC.8O

Good riddance, I say.

Laisrean

March 28th, 2008, 04:52 PM

If he thinks the Libertarian Party better reflects the ideals of FDR, he's loonier than anybody likely thought. I'd love to see the Libertarian candidate proposing the WPA or CCC.8O

Good riddance, I say.

Yeah, I thought that myself. FDR was one of the least Libertarian presidents in American history and he is joining the Libertarians because the Democrats have strayed too far from FDR? Weird...